Negotiators from German election winner Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats started exploratory talks Friday on a possible coalition government, but were tightlipped on the details as they launched what could be a complicated process. Merz's Union bloc, which has led the opposition since 2021, won Sunday's election, in which the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany took second place. The only plausible choice of coalition partner for the Union which like other mainstream parties rules out working with Alternative for Germany is the Social Democrats of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. They slumped to third place and their worst post-World War II result in a German parliamentary election on Sunday. Between them, the Union and Social Democrats have 328 seats in the newly elected 630-seat parliament. In a brief statement after a first round of talks on Friday, the two sides said the discussions began in an open and constructive ...